COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Officials with the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced federal charges against 34-year-old Jonathan Felkel on Thursday after Felkel allegedly shot at his neighbor in July. Video shows Felkel allegedly pulling up to the gate at the entrance to his Spring Valley community, where the victim, Jarvis McKenzie, also lived, and firing a gun at McKenzie. Felkel then shouts, “You better keep running boy!” The suspect later admitted to police that he did so — simply because the McKenzie is Black. “This case is deeply disturbing. Hate crimes do more than harm an individual, they send a message of fear and intimidation to an entire community. Which is why we take them seriously. We are grateful the victim wasn’t physically injured in this incident and we know the emotional and psychological impact is real,” says Special Agent in Charge with the SC FBI, Kevin Moore. On Thursday, McKenzie recalled the incident alongside his attorney, Tyler Bailey. “I was standing on the corner waiting to go to work that morning and the fellow he shot and said what he had to say, and I ran, he says, adding, “Boy, I was shocked. I didn’t believed it had happened till it dawned on me later on, ‘Wow… this really happened. Especially in my neighborhood,” he says. The U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina says Felkel could receive up to 20 years for allegedly committing the hate crime and violating the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits someone interfering with another person engaging in housing activities in part, due to their race. Richland and Orangeburg counties are now the only two counties in the state with a hate crime law. “I think this reiterates the need there needs to be a statewide hate crime bill. If the federal government can say that, there’s no reason why the SC legislation should not be in a position to pass a statewide hate crime bill,” says Bailey. “Hate’s there. We’ve got to do something about it. And this is a case I think that’s gonna send a big message to anybody that they can go out and commit a crime based on hate. It’s not gonna be tolerated,” says Sheriff Leon Lott. South Carolina is now only one of two states without a hate crime law. “This is an example of why we need one statewide. Unfortunately I have to go to the federal government to get someone charged with a hate crime. We should be able to do it statewide,” says Lott. Felkel currently remains behind bars at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. His next day in court has not yet been determined. “There should be no hate. So I thank the government for moving forward, and I hope the state will adapt to it as well,” says McKenzie. Categories: Local News, News Tags: hate crime, Jonathan Felkel, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina ...read more read less